The 5 Most Outrageous Things We Saw at Milan Fashion Week

Wish you'd been in Milan, enjoying the stylish madness of fashion week? Here are some of the crazier things you missed:

1. Inspiration overload. While reporting backstage at the fashion shows, one of the first questions we usually ask experts is, "What was your inspiration for the look?" And though we've heard some bizarre answers over the past seasons, possibly the nuttiest one ever came from makeup artist Pat McGrath and hairstylist Guido at Prada. To recap, their inspirations included: Bold, reflective eye makeup; double buns; '30s marcel waves; and, our favorite, a girl going dancing in Cuba. The result? A totally bizarro retro/space-age look that included lacquered finger-waves, molten silver eye shadow, and bushy brows.

2. Shadow wars. Not only do models have to walk in multiple shows—so does their makeup. One specific M.A.C. eye shadow shade (M.A.C. Eye Shadow in Juxt) popped up on both the Alberta Ferretti and Aquilano Rimondi runways. Good news: both of the looks scored stellar reviews. Worn as a light wash, the leafy green shadow is really beautiful.

3. Glasses all around. The theme of the DSquared show, above, was props. From fake nails (so that all the models' hands would look uniform) to oversize black-rimmed eye glasses (so that they appeared "intelligent"), once the models were finished with hair and makeup, their similarities made them look like a line of mass-produced robots, er, models.

4. Smoky eyes (no, really). Instead of a true backstage area where the hair and makeup teams could spread out and do their thing, the space right beside the stage at Aquilano Rimondi served as a cramped prep area—filled to the brim with models, hair and makeup pros, and smoke! No one was sure where the cloud was coming from, but it left the models' eyes red and burning and even had some coughing right before hitting the runway.

5. Hair today; gone today. Despite all the hair and makeup trial runs, sometimes the experts make tweaks only hours before show time. Hairstylist Oribe had planned to turn the models' hair into human-hair turbans (see the proof below: suitcases full of hair extensions) but canned the idea. Along with the Giorgio Armani himself, Oribe decided to get rid of the models' hair altogether. He wrapped it up and then pinned it under a net that was then covered by fez-like hats in the show.